Motivation, career stagnation and counterproductive work behavior among academic staff of public universities in Uganda

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to establish the relationship between motivation, career stagnation and counterproductive work behaviors among academic staff of public universities in Uganda. The study aimed to achieve the following objectives; to investigate the relationship between motivation and counterproductive work behaviors, to examine the relationship between motivation and career stagnation, to establish the relationship between career stagnation and counterproductive work behavior. A cross sectional survey design using quantitative approach was adopted and data was collected from a sample of 211 lecturers from Makerere University who were obtained using simple sampling technique. Data was therefore collected using self-administered questionnaire and later analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Scientists. Descriptive statistics showed that majority were male respondents (55.5%), majority were between 41-50 years (39.4%). Results indicate that there was a significant negative relationship between employee motivation and counterproductive work behaviours (r= -.145*, p=.036). The results further show there was a significant positive relationship between career stagnation and counterproductive work behaviours (r= .320**, p=.000). However, results show that there was a non-relationship between employee motivation and career stagnation (r= .093, p=.243). Therefore, the present study provides a basis and implications for further investigation on relationship between employee motivation, career stagnation and counterproductive work behaviours among academic staff in different universities in Uganda. It was recommended that the management of Makerere University needs to ensure that it designs polices that promote employee motivation, career development and reduce counterproductive work behaviours among university academic staff. .